Mental Health First Aid Flashcards
Grade 11 · Health · Flashcards
Key terms, frameworks, and crisis response concepts for providing effective Mental Health First Aid to peers and community members.
Flashcards
- ALGEE action plan
- The five-step Mental Health First Aid framework: Assess for suicide/harm risk, Listen non-judgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage professional help, Encourage self-help and other support.
- Active suicidal ideation
- Suicidal thoughts accompanied by a specific plan and/or intent to act; a psychiatric emergency requiring immediate intervention, not just monitoring.
- Passive suicidal ideation
- Thoughts of wishing to be dead or not wanting to wake up, without a specific plan; still serious and warrants assessment, support, and professional referral.
- Psychosis
- A break from reality involving hallucinations (sensory experiences with no external stimulus) or delusions (fixed false beliefs); can be a symptom of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or substance use.
- Means restriction
- Reducing a suicidal person's access to lethal means (medications, firearms) to create a protective gap between impulse and action; one of the strongest evidence-based prevention strategies.
- De-escalation techniques
- Calm tone of voice, open and non-threatening body language, validating emotions, offering choices, avoiding power struggles — used to reduce tension in crisis situations.
- Non-judgmental listening
- Giving full attention without expressing shock, disapproval, or unsolicited advice; maintaining eye contact, using open body language, and reflecting feelings back to the speaker.
- Trauma-informed care
- An approach recognizing that past trauma affects present behavior and mental health; emphasizes physical/emotional safety, trustworthiness, peer support, and empowerment in all interactions.
- Mental health continuum
- The understanding that mental health exists on a spectrum from flourishing to crisis; individuals move along this continuum, and early intervention prevents progression toward severe states.
- Safe messaging guidelines
- Evidence-based media and communication standards for discussing suicide that avoid detailed descriptions of methods, romanticization, and sensationalism — which research links to contagion effects (copycat suicide).
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- US national crisis resource (call or text 988); staffed 24/7 by trained counselors for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts, mental health crises, or supporting someone in distress.
- Psychoeducation
- Providing accurate, accessible information about mental health conditions, symptoms, and treatments; reduces stigma, corrects myths, and empowers individuals to seek help.
- Mental health stigma
- Negative attitudes and discrimination toward people with mental illness that discourage help-seeking; Mental Health First Aid training is shown to significantly reduce both personal and perceived stigma.
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